Listen! to My Heart!
by Project CluClu
Summary: AU flash-fic. It's just practice for me to get back into the swing of things before I touch my other writing. Set in an amusement park. Lelouch has to figure out a way to tell C.C. his feelings and that he's moving away.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

Lelouch sat on the cold bench with a sullen expression, angry with himself for letting a free Saturday slip through his fingers. He could have packed, he could have finished up the last of the paperwork, hell, he could have slept in and caught some much-needed sleep. But no, the witch just _had_ to go to the amusement park today, and the selfish woman she was, she had refused to go by herself. She had climbed into his bedroom through the window, and, with the help of Suzaku - the traitor that he was - had dragged him out of bed and into the car so that they could go to some crowded amusement park.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. Why couldn't she just have gone with Suzaku? The two got along well, and Suzaku was more the type to go to places like this. Why had she insisted on forcing him along? All he had done was stand by and hold her purse, along with any prizes Suzaku won her at the arcade, which were plenty. His arms had been full of stuffed teddy bears, rabbits, kittens, and Cheese-kuns. His ears were still ringing from the children who had screamed, terrified at the sight of monster made of cheap stuffed animals.

She knew how he hated places like this. They were hell to him, with their crying babies, spoiled brats, tired and temperamental parents, the heat, the highway robbery, the rides, he hated it all, and yet, she had stuffed him into the car. At least Suzaku had apologized. But her? As if such words were in her vocabulary. He doubted the woman even knew what the word meant. No, it was for certain. She knew no such word. There was no way she did. After all, he had met her when they had met on the playground after-school when they had been in kindergarten and he had yet to know just how much of a stubborn, selfish, lazy person she wa-

"What'd you think of that one, C.C.?"

"It was terrible. It was such a weak ride - supposed to feel as if my heart's in my stomach? As if that would ever happen. Not with how weak that one was."

"Really? I thought it was pretty okay. Although I don't think I would take Euphie on that one…"

"She's not made of glass, Suzaku."

"I know, but I don't want her to get hurt or anything…"

"Euphie's a person too. She wants to have fun with her boyfriend, just like any other girl."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Why the hell do you two look like that?" Lelouch crossed his arms and stared hard at the soaked pair who were standing in a pool of water. He pulled a face and shifted his feet - who knew who and what had gone in that water?

"We just came from the Leap of Faith," explained the brunette. Tapping his chin, he said, "I think it has a 6-story drop? Was it 6-stories, C.C.? Maybe it was 8? I can't quite remember."

"Doesn't matter, either way, it still doesn't deserve its reputation."

"But yeah, it was a waterslide, and that's why we're wet."

"Well, we don't have any towels," coldly said Lelouch, "so I hope you two reflect over your decision to go on a waterslide when the sun is setting."

"Are you sure? I remember packing towels…" Suzaku stepped closer and reached for the large duffel bag sitting on the bench, and his friend squirmed away to avoid the water dripping off his tanned arm.

"We don't have any towels," he said flatly.

"Oh, well, it's not like it matters."

"And why's that?"

"I can just strain the water from my shirt," cheerfully answered Suzaku while pulling his drenched shirt off, "and C.C. can-"

"I can just do this."

The hairs on the back of Lelouch's neck rose and goosebumps appeared on his arms as he felt two slender, two very cold arms slip around his waist. He let out an inaudible gasp as she leaned in close and essentially wrapped him around her.

"I can just use you as a towel. A skinny, lanky, perverted towel, but a towel all the same."

"Let go of me, woman!"

"Be quiet, Lelouch. You're making a scene."

Sure enough, he saw the suspicious glances of middle-aged women and young men directed towards him. Gritting his teeth, he stopped struggling but immediately pushed her away the moment her grip on his shirt slackened.

"Stay the hell away from me, witch! Here's your god damn towel!"

"Oh, so we did have towels. Suzaku, do you want one?"

"Yeah, thanks, C.C."

"You're welcome," she said sweetly. She handed him a neatly folded towel before throwing one in Lelouch's general direction.

"You better dry yourself off. It looks like you had a little accident."

"And whose fault is that?" he snarled.

"Certainly not mine. If you had actually given us the towels when we had asked, that would have never happened."

"You witch, you- Don't just take your shirt off all of a sudden!"

"I'm wet and the sun's setting. If I don't change soon, I'm going to get sick. And you know who takes care of me when I'm sick?"

She looked at him pointedly as she buttoned up a strangely familiar dress shirt.

"That's right. _You. _So stop scolding me, or else you're going to have to see me more often than you want, and we both know that's the last thing you want. Right?"

He looked away as he tried to get the image of her pink bra out of his head. He was slightly surprised by the color and design. He would have thought that she would have preferred black and promiscuous, not feminine and pink… N-not that he had spent any time thinking about things like that. As if! He didn't see her as a woman. She was a witch, a being sent from the darkest depths of hell to disrupt his peaceful life. And it wasn't as if he had seen it because he had wanted to. She had just… She had… It was _her_ fault for taking her shirt off without warning like that. And it wasn't as if he was the only one who had seen it either!

At the realization that he wasn't the only witness, his thoughts immediately darkened and his expression soured. That was right. He wasn't the only one who had seen it. There had been others. And not just others, other _men_, some of which who had been prowling around the water-slides to prey on women in see-through clothes. In fact, he could see a small gang a few feet away. They kept glancing towards C.C., who was busy tying her damp hair and chatting to Suzaku. Lelouch watched as some of them smirked and howled before clapping one of them - probably the challenger - on the back, as if encouraging him.

If there was a representative for a class-A jerk, it was this idiot. From the way he stunk to high heaven of cheap cologne to his clothes to his walk, "jerk" was written all over him. And this class-A jerk was making a beeline for C.C.

That is, he had been, until they happened to meet eyes.

Lelouch stared hard at him, the corners of his lips turned down into an unnerving scowl. When the threat still didn't back away, he narrowed his eyes, as if daring him to step closer. He stood frozen across the busy walkway, hypnotized by the anger in what he hoped looked like C.C.'s boyfriend. Fortunately, she took a seat besides him and leaned back before resting her chin on his shoulder and asking if he was hungry. He normally acted as if he hated it when she invaded his personal space like that, but for once, he let himself enjoy it. Turning to her, he studied her for a moment before exploiting the looks God had and his mother had graced him with.

C.C. blinked at the sudden wide smile, startled to be the target of such a gentle expression. She couldn't remember the last time he had looked at her that way - the last time had probably been sometime during second grade, before he began to turn into the anal-retentive prig he was today - and it was slightly disorienting. His brows drew together as he looked at her with worry.

"Are you alright, C.C.? You look a little out of it."

"Hmm?"

"You must be hungry. I'm fine with anything, as long as it makes you happy."

For all her aloof exterior, C.C. was still a woman at heart, and right now, she was enlightened as to why so many of her colleagues were constantly pestering her to set them up on a date with her best friend.

"Lelouch…"

"Yes, C.C.?"

"Have you… Fallen on your head?" She pinched his cheek. "Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that?"

"You should thank me! Do you know how many girls would kill for me to talk to them that way?"

"Oh, so you _do_ know your reputation. Well, Mr. Casanova, don't bother asking me or Suzaku to help you with your popularity issues, now that you know how much of a womanizer you are."

"It's not like you help anyway. If anything, all you do is make the problem more complex!"

"Suzaku! We're leaving!"

"Um, yeah. Are we going to Pizza Hut for dinner then?"

"Absolutely not," thundered Lelouch. "We went to that abominable restaurant for lunch, we are _not_ going there for dinner!"

"Then you can go eat dinner by yourself, I'm going to Pizza Hut. Let's go, Suzaku."

"Uh…"

He nervously glanced between his two friends, torn between them, until he heard Lelouch sigh and say, "Go with her and make sure she doesn't get in any trouble. There's been a lot of trouble with… Unsavory men trying to get close to her, and she needs to be protected, no matter how ornery she can get."

"Right. You should come too, Lelouch. I'm sure C.C. didn't mean what she said. She wants you to eat dinner with us. I'm sure of it."

"I'll join you in a few minutes. I just want to sit here for a few more seconds. You go

with C.C."

He nodded before jogging away. When he was alone, Lelouch heaved a sigh and leaned back. He had been stressed as of late, because of the witch. Not because she was his complete opposite. Not because of her antics. But because of their arguments. They had been getting more and more frequent, and what more, over the most petty things. He was afraid that if they weren't careful, that if they continued on the path they were currently hurtling down, they'd say the most unforgivable things to one another and then be forced to split apart. And the last thing he wanted was the split any more than they had to in the near future.

He hadn't told her yet, the news of his transfer, and he was dreading the moment he was finally going to tell her, because he just knew that they were going to argue. He didn't want that. Truth be told, he loathed bickering with her. It always, without fail, left a bad taste in his mouth, probably from all of the lies he had told her about how he was always so frustrated because of her, of how sometimes he wished they had never met, of the way he'd never see her as anything but a witch. Because the truth of the matter was that he, Lelouch vi Britannia, was hopelessly in love a witch. _Had been_ in love with a witch for quite some years now. Completely and utterly smitten. He had slowly entangled himself with his feelings for her, and now it seemed, as his time with her quickly drained away, the web would slowly tighten around his neck until the noose took the last of his breath and what little chance he had with her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

"Hey."

"What is it?" he growled. Lelouch was in no mood to entertain the woman's whims. His pants were damp in the most uncomfortable place they could have gotten wet, and the smell of greasy cheese always put him in a terrible mood. Delicately unfolding the cloth napkin, he spread it over his lap and darkly watched the witch swallow her mouthful of pizza from across the table.

"What do you think we look like to other people?"

"What do you mean?"asked Suzaku.

"Two boys and a girl. Do you think some people think we're part of a throuple?"

"Is that English?"snarled Lelouch, "or did you hit your head on the overhead lamp?"

"Unlike you, I watch where I'm going so, no, unlike you, I did not hit my head on the lamp. A throuple," she said in a condescending tone, "is a slang term for a polyamorous relationship. So in other words, do you think some people think all three of us are in one relationship?"

"Why the hell would you wonder something like that?"

"Mmmm... I suppose it's possible," thought aloud Suzaku. "But I don't think so."

"And why's that?"

"Because of you and Lelouch. If I didn't know you two, I'd say that you two are siblings."

They both stared at their friend, who hurriedly said, "Or a married couple. Both bicker really often."

Lelouch and C.C. looked at one another before simultaneously standing up.

"Wait, what's-"

"Let's go, Lelouch."

"I'm already one step ahead of you."

"Oh, I was just kidding. Why would anyone think you two are siblings? You don't look anything alike."

"You can sit there and reflect over how terrible your jokes are, Suzaku. Lelouch and I are done eating."

"I'm sorry, C.C. Sorry, Lelouch. I shouldn't have said something like-"

Lelouch was about to sit back down, having already accepted the apology, when the witch suddenly grabbed his hand and sprinted out of the bustling restaurant. Nearly tripping and falling flat on his face, he dug his heels into the ground to try and stop her before he hurt himself. When he finally managed to yank her to a stop, she hurtled into him. He grunted as he caught her, the wind nearly knocked out of him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? He apologized!"

"Didn't you hear what he said? He said we were siblings!"

"As a joke," he argued. "And you walked into that one by asking if we were a... A... If we were in a polyamorous relationship! Which is an insane question in itself because if you haven't forgotten, Suzaku is in a relationship with Euphemia."

"Oh, so you accept their relationship only when it conveniences you. You know, you're-"

She suddenly grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him into the depths of the nearest souvenir shop. As she shoved him into a changing room, Lelouch resented her iron grip and the fact that she went to the gym four times a week with Suzaku in order to burn off all of the pizza calories. Why was someone so small so strong? It was as if-

He flattened himself against the wall as she rushed up to him.

"Turn off your phone," she hissed.

"What?"

"Put it on silent. Now. Before Suzaku calls-"

The moment the ear-shattering ringtone filled the stall, her hand dove into the pocket of his pants. Lelouch immediately squirmed as he growled, "Get your hands out of my personal space!"

"Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate."

He watched with half-fascination, half-offense as her fingers curled around his phone and switched it so that the ringtone was silenced and merely vibrated in his pocket. She heaved a sigh of relief before leaning on him.

"That was close."

Lelouch stood there, awkwardly plastered to the wall, with her hand in his pocket and her pressed against him. He wasn't quite sure what to do, or what to say to get out of the situation without embarrassing himself. Which was going to be difficult to do, knowing C.C.

"Hey."

"What is it?" Her words were muffled, and he tried not to fidget under her.

"Do me a favor and put a respectable distance between you and me."

"What if I don't feel like doing you a favor?"

The tips of his ears colored as she looked up and softly said, "What if I'm tired and I just want to stay like this for a moment?"

Clearing his throat, he tried his best to sound cold as he replied, "I couldn't care less. Get off of me and get away from me."

But she didn't listen to him and merely changed the subject.

"Lelouch?"

"What is it?" he sighed. So she really wasn't going to move away, was she? He was stuck like this, wasn't he?

"Do you hate me?"

What?

"You're always so angry at me all the time. You forgave Suzaku right after he apologized, but you'd never forgive me even after I apologized."

"When was the last time you apologized, C.C.?"

"Why do you think I stopped?"

His impatience faded away at her words. He hadn't realized it before, but he really had never actually accepted her apologies in the past. He had always been too angry at himself and too embarrassed, too prideful, to tell her that he had already forgiven and forgotten her antics. And he, blinded by his self-absorption, had completely ignored the possibility of how his silence may have affected C.C. For how many years had she wordlessly suffered by his hand? And why had she not said anything? Why had she taken each blow with acceptance?

"C.C., I..."

"You know, if you don't like me, just say it now. I don't want to force you to spend time with someone you don't like."

"I... C.C., the truth is, I'm in-"

"Excuse me!" interrupted a shrill voice. They stared at the door of the changing room as someone rapped their knuckles on the hard plastic.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave the changing room. The rule is one person per stall, unless one of the two is under the age of 5. Which I'm sure both of you are _not._ Please leave the stall immediately!"

"We were going anyway. Suzaku's been punished enough. Let's go find him. He must be near tears by now for deserting him."

"... Yeah."

Patting him on the shoulder, she straightened up and quickly left the small room, leaving him to contemplate what had just happened.

What had just happened?

Well... Well, his eyes had been opened to something he had never considered before. And he had been on the brink of confessing to C.C. He could distinctly picture the pain in her eyes as she looked up at him, asking him if he hated her, and his heart tore. He hadn't... He hadn't meant to hurt her. He didn't hate her. He just... Half the time, he was confusing her, and the other half, he was confusing himself with his own feelings, and it was just a great, big mess.

Lelouch tiredly ran a hand through his hair. All he wanted to do was tell her how he felt. She didn't have to reciprocate his feelings, although it would be nice if she did. She didn't have to cry with joy. She just had to listen to what he said. All he wanted was to take the weight off of his shoulders and tell her the truth. That was all. Before he left, he just wanted to look her in the eye and say in a clear, strong voice, "I love you."

That was all he wanted.

* * *

**A/N: I honestly have no idea wtf I'm going with this one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Suzaku straightened up from where he had been leaning into the mirror. Fixing the headband one last time, he said, "I think I'm ready for the picture now."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Suzaku?" Lelouch glanced up at the dog ears sitting atop his friend's head. "Isn't this a little demeaning?"

"I think it's pretty fun. And I'm sure Euphie would be glad if we sent her a picture."

"But..."

"Come on, Lelouch. We came here to have fun. Don't you want to have fun?"

"My idea of fun doesn't exactly include wearing animal headbands," he muttered darkly. But Suzaku ignored him - or maybe didn't hear him - and said, "C.C., which one do you think Lelouch should wear?"

"Tell him to close his eyes."

"Lelouch, close your eyes."

"I heard her the first time," he said under his breath. He obediently - _reluctantly_ \- closed his eyes. After their little escapade in the dressing room, C.C. hadn't once directly spoken to him, or even looked at him. Whenever she had wanted to say something to him, she had always used Suzaku as a messenger. Suzaku had picked up on the change of mood between the two but was nice enough not to comment and fulfilled each and every one of C.C.'s requests, even if she had wanted to say something like, "Keep walking" to someone who had clearly heard her.

He probably thought that they just had another quarrel. Which was true, in a way, but not quite. They hadn't fought. Well, they had, but not in the usual way. This time, it was more...

For all his intelligence and wide vocabulary, Lelouch couldn't quite touch on the word that described what had happened in the dressing room. But he could think of the word he was feeling because of what had happened back then. He was feeling empty. Hollow. How could he have... How could he say that he loved her, when all he had done was hurt her? He didn't blame her for not speaking to him. He would have done the same if their roles had been reversed.

"Open your eyes," she said gently. He obeyed, only to be surprised to find her inches away from him. He tried to look away, but her gaze reeled him in until he finally gave up and let himself drown in her eyes.

"Bend down."

As he lowered his head, a sense of nostalgia shot through him. Back when they had been children, when they had played together after school, they would often play hide-and-go-seek. Particularly during the spring time, they would run through the gardens together, or sit in the shade of the rosebush hedges and read, or in C.C.'s case, braid flower crowns, which she would always give to him. She would stand, and he would kneel in front of her, and wait until she would crown him King of the Garden. It had always been at that time, when she held out a hand to him and took his arm before telling him that they were taking a tour of his kingdom, when he had felt the most at peace. Even after the death of his mother, he remembered how she had given him the nostalgic crown before gently pushing his head onto her lap, where he had cried, and cried, and cried until tears no longer remained in his entire being and soul.

Back then, she had been taller than him. There had been no need to kneel, no need to bend down. It had just been for show back then. But the times had changed, and with the times, he had also changed. It might not have been necessary back then, but it was necessary now. Just like his moving away.

"With the power vested in me," she said softly in his ear, "I now crown you the King of the Gardens. Do you accept?"

"I do."

The corner of her lips turned up, and Lelouch stood as still as a statue, waiting for what was to come next. They had been children, and they hadn't fully understood what a kiss between a boy and girl meant, but always, she had kissed her king on the cheek after he accepted the throne. Always. And though he knew that things had changed, that they could never go back to that happy time, he still found himself hoping that maybe some things could be preserved, that they could be immortalized...

She raised a hand and cupped his cheek. His heart fluttered as it leapt into his throat. He swallowed as she leaned in close, with her soft lips and hooded eyes, when she suddenly turned away and hugged him.

Bitter with disappointment and surprise, he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his cheek on her head and held her tightly. Who knew if he'd be able to do this before he left? He hugged her with all his strength, not wanting to let her go. All of the pain he had cooped up, all of the longing he released as he stood there and hugged her. Gritting his teeth, he silently apologized to her for everything he had done, for hurting her, and for not saying anything when he should have been the first one there to tell her that she had him. He could feel her trembling, and the way she was fisting his shirt, but it only made her hold her tighter. He buried his nose into the crook of her neck, smelling her familiar perfume, before tightly closing his eyes shut.

She had known all this time, hadn't she? She had known and had waited for him to say something to her. To tell her what was coming in the future, to tell her how they would be separated by more than a five-minute walk in the neighborhood for the first time in fifteen years. She had waited for him to tell her, so that she could finally fall into his arms and cry her heart out, so that she could finally tell him why she had stayed with him even when he had pushed her away.

"Promise me you won't forget," she whispered. "Promise you won't forget me."

"How could I forget you, C.C.? How could a king forget his queen?"

"Why do you have to leave, Lelouch? It's too early for this. You promised me we would always be together."

His eyes pricked at the words of the promise he made her years ago, when he had rushed to the hospital after hearing of the emptied pill bottle. Choking on his words, he merely tightened his hold on her.

"I just found you. I'm not ready. Don't go when I'm not ready."

"We'll never be ready, C.C. We will never be ready. Don't you understand? The sooner I leave, the sooner I can return."

"You think I care about something like that? All I care about is the present, and that's where I want you. In the present, right next to me, where I can see you, and talk to you, and feel you. That's where I want you, Lelouch. Stay. With me, please."

"You know I can't do that..."

"Then at least stay with me every second of the day until you have no choice but to leave. Do you understand?"

"I understand," he said softly. "I'll be with you every second of the day until I have no choice but to leave, and then I'll come back, and I'll be with you every second of the day until the end of time. I promised you, didn't I, Cera? That I'd be with you until the very end."

She nodded and he told her how much he loved her, how his love for her as a friend had slowly grown into something more, how he finally told her everything that he had wanted to say for the past few years. And she listened to every word, with her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around him. Lelouch closed his eyes as he confessed to her and finally did what he had once deemed impossible - he finally completely and wholly opened up to someone. And not just to anyone. He finally told her how much he loved her, to her, before he ran out of time.

* * *

**A/N: It's not over yet.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

C.C. slammed the car door shut before leaning down to smile at the couple.

"Thanks for the ride."

"Don't mention it," replied Suzaku.

"It was nice seeing you, Euphie. I had a good time."

"I'm sorry we could only have dinner. I would have liked to do something more."

"It's okay. I'm tired, and I'm sure you are too from your flight. Not to mention the fact that you and Suzaku have a lot of catching up to do, and I'm sure you wouldn't want me there. Though I wouldn't mind watching," she teased.

Even in the dark, she could see the two blushing, and her smile widened in amusement. Poking fun at them always cheered them up, on account of them never failing to deliver a reaction, and they both pulled through again. Tapping the hood of the car, she straightened up and said, "I'll see you two later ten."

"Y-Yeah."

"Good night, Euphie. Bye, Suzaku."

"Good night, C.C.," chirped Euphemia. "Thank you for everything!"

Suzaku waved as the young woman stepped away under the shade of the awning. She watched as the car pulled away and stood still until the tail lights vanished around the bend. Once she was alone in the lonely street, she heaved a sigh and let her hand fall to her side as she finally slipped off her mask.

She was happy for the two. She was glad that they had finally reunited, even if it was only for a week or two before Euphie had to board the plane again to go back to college. She genuinely was, especially after Suzaku's constant fretting, but there were times when it hurt her to see them smiling and holding hands and being with one another. It reminded her far too strongly of a certain man she didn't particularly want to think of, in fear of the inevitable loneliness and yearning that set in whenever her thoughts wandered to him.

She rubbed her arms as if she were chilly, despite the warm spring breeze. She didn't feel ready to go back inside yet. No one was waiting for her anyway, and she suspected that if she were to go home to dark shadows and empty rooms after an evening of watching Suzaku and Euphie fawn over one another, she'd burst into the tears she had been trying to hold for the past few weeks. So she decided to go to the convenience store on the corner near her apartment. Even if she didn't need anything, or would only stand there and study the rows of microwavable food, it was better than sitting home by herself all night long. Anything would be better than that. Thus, she turned and began a slow, treacherous walk under the protection of the blossoming cherry blossoms, guided by the soft light of the full moon.

. . .

She had been sitting in front of the convenience store, in one of the flimsy, plastic chairs, when it happened. She had been dutifully drinking away a six-pack of cold beer and chewing on a bag of seasoned and dried cuttlefish, when the man walked out. He was obviously drunk out of his mind - she could tell from his stumbling and muttering - and was making a fool out of himself. He was fairly average-looking, and his drunk side was just a terrible mess, and there was no way she would ever find him attractive but...

But someone else probably still had. Someone else had probably fallen in love with the ungraceful lump of a man, and that someone else was most likely waiting for him to come home and ask him how his day was, and sit across the table from them and listen as they recounted the latest gossip at work, occasionally reaching across and wiping the pizza sauce from her lips, and... And...

She missed him immensely. There was a great big hole where her heart had once been, where he had once been, and the pain was insufferable. She had waited for four years for the hole to be filled again, but the four years had been for nothing. Sure, they had written emails, and they had called, and they had video-called one another, but it wasn't the same. She couldn't touch him. She couldn't feel him. She couldn't kiss him or be kissed. They couldn't express their love for one another without saying it aloud, which was a foreign concept to the two who found it extremely difficult to be so forward with their emotions, and as a result, frustration had slowly built up inside of her for the past four years.

C.C. had tried her best to be understanding. She knew that he didn't like being separated either, that he was as desperate as she was to be with him as much in the physical sense as they were in the emotional sense, but sometimes, it was just so difficult for her to be understanding. She felt the selfishness bubble up, demanding to know why he couldn't just come home like he promised, why he had to keep accepting the scholarships and offers, why he didn't want to be with her... Except he did want to be with her.

He had held her so tightly at the airport, and though he wasn't inclined to cry, his eyes hadn't been dry either when he pulled away before kissing her for the last time. He had been the first to say, "I love you" too. Normally, he would have never said anything so intimate without any prompting, but as they stood in the bustling airport that morning, he had kissed her fingers and whispered to her how deeply he felt for her, and she had treasured that bittersweet memory ever since, the bittersweet memory that was tormenting her...

She stood up so abruptly, the drunk keeled over and sprawled all over the quiet street. Gathering up the half-eaten bag and remaining two cans, she stuffed them into her purse before marching off in the direction of home. She was going to stop this ridiculous pining. It was stupid, to want something that wasn't going to happen. She and Lelouch had discussed his return countless times - he wouldn't be coming back until May, and May was only two months off. She had waited four years - she could wait two more months.

Opening a beer, she swallowed its frothiness as she walked at a smart clip. She was going to go home - to hell if no one was waiting for her! - and she was going to take a hot, relaxing bath, and then she was going to watch movies until she fell asleep. So what if she missed him? That couldn't stop her from having fun on her own. She wasn't dependent on him, her happiness wasn't based off of whether he was with her or not, she was her own woman, and she was determined to...

The only sound was the muffled impact of the pizza box falling to the asphalt. Normally, she would have been indignant and angry at such an act of disrespect to Pizza Hut, but she was too dumbfounded - and a bit tipsy - to notice because there, in front of her, only a few feet away stood Lelouch vi Britannia. He looked extremely haggard and scruffy, but there he was in the flesh. There he stood, right before her, with his own stupefied expression.

There Lelouch vi Britannia was.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

C.C. found him lying on the bed. He was too tall and lanky for the bed to properly serve him, but he didn't seem to mind, seeing from the way he was hugging his pillow and was completely still as he lay on his stomach.

She quietly padded towards him before quickly taking a seat on his back. He grunted but didn't say anything more. Slightly annoyed by his lack of attention, she straddled him and bent down so that she was in optimum cheek-pinching position. Mercilessly pinching his cheeks, she whispered, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Isn't that the question I should be asking you? Let me go, C.C. I'm too tired for this."

"And what's this?"

"You're-"

"Ignoring your girlfriend? Whom you haven't seen for the past four years? Was that what you were going to say? Because that's what's happening right now."

"C.C., if you think I'm ignoring you because I don't love you, you should know you're wrong. I'm doing it because I'm exhausted and I don't want to give you only half of my attention," he mumbled. She let go of him before completely lying down on top of him and saying, "Half is better than none, you know."

"You really want my attention that badly?"

She scoffed at him. "You wish. I just want you to…"

Her confidence suddenly deserted her, and she blushed at what she had been about to say. Normally she wouldn't react this way - normally she wouldn't have even told him what she wanted, she would have just gotten it, regardless of whether he liked it or not - but this wasn't normally. She hadn't seen him for four years, and he had changed, as had she. She had seen him through the videos and pictures, but seeing the change in a photo and seeing the change in real life were two completely different matters, not to mention it had been forever since she had actually spoken to him face-to-face and the way she had had four-and-a-half cans of beer and… Maybe she was just feeling a small case of the butterflies.

"What is it? What do you want me to do?" he asked gently.

"… Nothing. It's nothing. Forget I ever said anything."

She slipped off of him and he shifted onto his side. Moving closer to him, she peered at his face. Though his eyes were still closed, he tiredly asked, "What is it, C.C.?"

"You look like you've come back from the dead."

"I feel like I've come back from the dead. Do you know how many all-nighters I had to pull in the past month? Seventeen. And the month before was thirteen. I missed a month's worth of sleep to come here early."

"You're back? This isn't a visit?"

"No, it's a visit," he sighed. He rubbed his face, as if he were frustrated and fatigued, before muttering, "They refuse to let me go. I've been trying over and over, and they simply refuse to budge. But I finally managed to draw a deal with them. Today is a visit, but I can come back in two weeks."

"For a visit or…?"

"Try or."

She stared at him, astounded. He wasn't serious, was he?

When there was no reaction, he opened one eye. "What is it? Are you really that upset? Don't tell me there's another man."

"You're really coming back?"

"Yes."

"You're not joking, are you? Your jokes aren't funny, Lelouch."

"My jokes are funny. And yes, I'm being serious. I'm coming back. Permanently."

"I don't believe you."

"Would you like for me to call my boss?"

Her heart pounding, she sat up. He was really coming back. He was really- she had waited four years for this moment, and it was happening, and there was just this strange sensation bubbling in the pit of her stomach and… And...

"C.C.? What's wrong?"

"You really worked that hard just for me? You did it for Nunnally, didn't you?"

"She was a factor," he admitted. "But you were the one I had in mind when I made the decision to accelerate the plan."

"But why?"

"Because I know you, and I knew how you were feeling. Because it was the same as I was feeling."

She watched as he struggled up into a sitting position.

"Frustration."

He moved closer to her, his long legs loosely forming a circle of protection around her.

"Anger."

He cupped her cheek and she couldn't look away from his soft gaze.

"Loneliness."

He tucked her hair behind her ear before leaning in and whispering, "Longing."

"Lelouch…"

"I promised you we would be together, didn't I, C.C.? I told you that I love you, didn't I?"

She closed his eyes as he kissed her forehead.

"Rest easy, my love. We're not quite out of the forest yet, but we're closer than we've ever been, and I swear to you that we'll make it out."

"You've gotten terribly good at sweet-talking," she mumbled. He smiled as he replied, "It comes with the business."

"I saw that there were a lot of pretty women at the company," she said lightly. "And they seemed extremely friendly too."

There wasn't any answer, and she pulled away from him.

"There's no need to rush back home, Lelouch. I've waited for four years. I can wait longer if I have to. I can wait two more months. I can wait for the rest of my life, if need be."

"C.C.-"

"I understand if things have changed. I can't expect for things to remain the same. People change, the times change, and so do feelings. I'm not stupid, Lelouch. The emails and the phone calls? The video-calling? Where did they all go during the past few months? Don't underestimate me. I'm an understanding…"

She stared at him and how he was holding her hand to his chest. What was he doing?

"Do you remember, C.C.? When we were children, when we played outside, I'd always be sitting down and reading because I had a weak heart. I was supposed to die back then, because I was too weak to live, but I didn't. I continued to live on and my heart has grown stronger since then. Much stronger. Do you know why?"

She was afraid of his answer, of what it would do to her, but she didn't tear her hand out of his grip and merely watched with wide eyes.

"Because I love you. Because I love you, because I didn't want to leave you, I worked to find a cure so that we could be together forever."

"You're lying. These are just sweet nothings for you to get what you want, you don't actually love me. Not after how long we were apart from-"

"Then why are you crying?" He wiped her tears away, and they glimmered under the dim light of the bedside lamp. "Then why do I see tears if you don't believe me, C.C.?"

She tried to tug herself free.

"I'm not crying."

"I'm sorry, C.C. I should have come sooner, I should have… I should have been better. I failed you. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." She leaned into his chest as she said, "Don't apologize, and don't leave me again, Lelouch. It was so hard without you. I kept lying to myself that I was fine, that it didn't bother me, but it did. It bothered me so much. I was always wondering if you had met some other woman, if you had forgotten about me, if you were ever going to come back and… It was just so hard."

"I love you, Cera. Always. Forever."

She listened to the beating of his heart as he told her of his love for her. His heartbeat reminded her of the times when they had been younger, and she had taken turns listening to each other's heartbeats. His had always been so faint and so weak, it had been scary and nerve-wracking at times because of the way it tricked her into thinking that it was gone forever. But that had been years ago, and just as he said, his heartbeat was much stronger. It was steady and strong as it told her that he wouldn't be going to a place where she wouldn't be able to be with him. It promised her that he would be there to stay, that he would keep his promise to her.

"Do you believe me now?"

She nodded, her tears having silenced her voice.

"I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon, C.C. I promise you. I've fought all my life. I don't mind more fighting if it's for you."

She nodded again as he smoothed her hair.

"Then give me a kiss and a smile. It hurts when you cry."

She obediently gave him a peck on the lips before hugging him tightly.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry."

"All's well that ends well. It's already been forgiven and forgotten."

"I love you, Lelouch."

"I love you too, C.C."

She smiled as he returned her embrace. It had been silly of her to worry. He had told her countless times, hadn't he? That his heart beat for her and her only. That he wouldn't let anything get in the way between them. That he loved her.

How silly she had been.

And how silly he was, for falling in love with a witch like her. Didn't he know that witches ate the hearts of men?

Ah, well, he had always been strange in the head ever since they were younger. Not that she minded. No, not at all. She loved his everything - his strengths, his weaknesses, his flaws, his perfection. Everything. Especially his heartbeat.

His beautiful, strong heartbeat.

* * *

**Fin.**


End file.
